Timeout With Leaders

Tyler White and Kevyn Rustici sit down with Nikisha Ridgeway, the President and CEO of Starbridge, a transformative organization that partners with individuals with disabilities, their families, and their supporters to create opportunities in education, employment, and healthy living. Nikisha is a remarkable leader who embodies the spirit of curiosity, perseverance, and collaboration. She believes that success is inevitable when you approach life with the right attitude and a passion for what you do. Nikisha Ridgeway's insights on leadership, inclusion, and the power of curiosity are invaluable. She reminds us that when we approach challenges with the mindset that success is inevitable and that everyone has the potential to contribute, we can create a more inclusive and prosperous world

Join us as we sit down with Michael Ognenovski, the current President of Sydor Optics Inc. in Rochester, NY. Mike's story is a testament to the power of personal growth, resilience, and effective leadership. Mike shares invaluable insights that have shaped his journey as a leader, providing a roadmap for success and personal growth. Tune in to hear Mike's inspiring journey, gain valuable leadership insights, and learn how to make each day count on your path toward Intrapreneurial leadership.

This week we take a TIMEOUT with Patrick Luckett, the CEO of Best Day Ever. Patrick's unique journey from being a head manager for Syracuse men's basketball under Coach Jim Boeheim to becoming a successful entrepreneur offered profound insights into leadership, consistency, and motivation. Patrick Luckett's journey is a testament to the power of leadership, consistency, and personal growth. His experiences with Coach Boeheim have left an indelible mark on his approach to motivating and inspiring other individuals. Pat realized early on it is all about the experiences and feelings a person has that will appropriately motivate them to become their best selves. As leaders, we can learn valuable lessons from Patrick's story, emphasizing the importance of connecting with and nurturing the potential of our team members to achieve greatness through an individualized approach.

Join us on an inspiring journey with Dale Sedgwick as she shares her powerful message: 'Do something today that makes tomorrow better.' As a faith-based leader, Dale focuses on providing hope to those society and the business community may have forgotten about. In this enlightening podcast, Dale reminds us that the Bible's practical wisdom is rooted in stories that connect us all. She emphasizes the importance of offering resources, training, financial support, and safety nets that empower individuals to reskill and upskill, not just for a job but for a career they're truly passionate about. Dale encourages us to pause and reflect on our personal journeys, acknowledging our achievements and experiences. While reflection is valuable, she reminds us not to be prisoners of our past but to use it as a textbook to shape our future.

TIMEOUT with Michael Backus, a part-time basketball referee, and President & Chief Executive Officer of Oswego Health, an independent community-based health system. He brings a whole new meaning to leadership in healthcare and a potential blueprint for others to learn from. "Find the best people to get on the bus with you" Transparency, vulnerability, and communication are how Mike has spread passion and purpose throughout all levels of the organization. In turn, their patients are saying, "You cared for my loved one as if they were a part of your family." If you take care of the community, the community will take care of you. Finding ways to engage and challenge his team to find solutions while modeling his workforce off of the community in which they live and work, makes all the difference in the quality of care and positive health outcomes.

This week we take a timeout with Gwen Van Laeken, Executive Director of Leadership Rochester, a personal and professional program dedicated to bringing leaders together to solve our community challenges. When we are able to present the challenge and effectively communicate with one another we can grow our perspective while achieving positive outcomes when we value each voice along the way. Gwen shares that asking more questions today is better than attempting the have all the answers in leadership.

Are we providing enough empowerment, encouragement, and enablement to those currently or previously incarcerated to become successful contributing members of our community? We sit down with Kardell Sims, who shares his journey with us which serves as his motivation to do more for others! His story, passion, and compassion is a lesson for all of us.

Do you believe that humans and AI can co-exist? Tyler and Kevyn sit down to separate fact from fiction as it relates to AI with Ryan Carrier, Executive Director of ForHumanity. His non-profit is focused on ensuring the safety and equity of AI, machine learning, and analytics to protect all our human interests. AI has been talked about feverishly since the release of ChatGPT but Ryan shares that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

We hope you are ready for this TIMEOUT with Ann Banks, President of DebtBlue in Richardson, Texas. Join in as we talk about meeting Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, and Ann's brother out at Wrigley Stadium as we jam out to So Lonely by the Police. Ann Banks shares how being an English teacher, and principal while enjoying life has helped her to become the leader she is today. Listening is not something many are doing right now, Ann admits that we must own our own ignorance in order to hear and value what others have to share in order to change perspective. It can be as simple as just following through with what you say you are going to do, just follow through.

Make leadership fun again! Timeout with Leaders takes a TIMEOUT with Michelle Ashby, the inspiring founder, and CEO of Tipping Point Communications. As we learned that we would be sitting with Gandhi, MLK JR, and Michelle's mother at her own funeral, we got a sense of who Michelle was. Leadership is all about having fun, Michelle says and in her own journey, she has reprioritized her definition of success and failure, a message we all can learn from today. Life is moving fast and feels like it is speeding up every day. Hit the pause button, get off the hampster wheel, and figure out who you are FIRST, to get back to having fun again in leadership. We all need to take our foot off the gas from time to time in order to reflect, learn and grow.

We grab our saddles and head out to the old Western Front with Jeff Sinsebox, President of Empowering People's Independence. A few other cowboys have decided to join the trek including FDR, Bob Dylan, and Robin Williams, as Jeff perfects his Clint Eastwood voice. Jeff is a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, but he had mentioned his own personal evolution of knowing who he was but realized he was not 100% comfortable being himself in leadership. This "wall" was blocking him from truly connecting with his people which has now become a bit of a superpower for him. Jeff shared his passion for the work EPI does for the community as he sees work as the great "equalizer" in our community to bring people together. “Economic Self-reliance is the empowerment of marginalized communities, giving them the power of choice, more choices than they previously had the privilege of making”

4th quarter, down by 2, 3.5 seconds to go… TIMEOUT!!!!! With the President of US Ceiling Corp, Melissa James-Geska What’s our game plan team? That’s an easy one coach, give the ball to Melissa James-Geska and get out of her way!!! We had the opportunity to sit down with Melissa and find out what gets her out of bed in the morning and most importantly, what she’s learned from her experiences in life. She was very open with us about her struggles and how she overcame them and can only imagine how many women’s lives she's helped by simply telling her story. "Truth always and trust in always" is a powerful statement on how she is able to build real connections for real feedback and insights from her team, to continuously improve. And if yall haven’t heard about Melissa’s birthday parties for herself... you might want to tune in because you’re missing out. We are hoping for an invite to her next birthday! What a way to wrap up Women in Construction week with Melissa James-Geska, thank you for your time and we MUST do this again next season!!!! You’ll be on the top of our list!!!!

We blew the whistle and from the opening question we knew that Roseann Schmid was different. She was unapologetically herself, not afraid to share her personal side and how that factored into everything she does as a leader. "Be kind to everyone because you don't know what they are going through" Roseann Schmid, works as CEO of Fisher Associates, here in Rochester however what is most impressive is that she doesn't use her position for power but to empower her team. The winner of the 2022 Woman of Excellence could have not gone to a better role model and leader in our local community, that realizes life is much bigger than work. Let us be vulnerable and build meaningful relationships with others because we all could use a listening, understanding ear right now.

A special thank you to all our current military service and veterans. We take a Timeout with Mike Klemmer, CEO, and Founder of Aerial Resupply Coffee, a courageous military veteran focused on the front-line workers who are commonly forgotten or overlooked. Sometimes we suffer from paralysis from over-analysis in today's informed world, preventing us from taking that leap of faith, betting on ourselves and our passion to begin our self-learning journey. Mike suggested once he feels he has achieved 80% of the achievement mark that he will figure out the last 20% because if he waited for 100% he would never do anything. "I wanted to do something that would give back to the veteran community" is the intention Mike needed in order to build his successful startup. His passion to take care of the people behind the scenes comes from his experience in the U.S. Army as he was responsible for beans, bullets, and beds. His biggest lesson is in order to be successful on the battlefield that there are so many others involved in order to get the job done! Feeding into that narrative that you are always responsible for the person to you right and left, regardless of diversity, title, or role because we all have a role to play.

As we get back into the swing of things after a new addition to the Timeout with Leaders family, Tyler White and Kevyn Rustici sit down with Daniel Bajus, Owner of Limitless Physical Therapy in Rochester, NY. "I find it ironic that in healthcare our number #1 problem today is burnout." said Dan, continuing to say "We take care of people but we can't take care of people at the same time." From the opening whistle, Dan took us to school on what lessons he learned coming from a family of seven, growing up on a farm, and embracing his faith to supercharge his leadership intention as well as company culture. He realized very early on that there is more to the person than just their professional contributions, that they must be holistically healthy in order for them to thrive individually, yielding better patient experiences, and outcomes. We can only do this if we ourselves are willing to block out the time for self-reflection and gratitude journaling. Because when our bucket is not full how can we expect to fill anyone else's?

This week Kevyn has a one-on-one conversation with Mike Colyer, Chief Executive Officer of Foundry in Rochester. Foundry has exploded since Mike Colyer started as employee number 1 to now over 170 employees, mind you this was all during a global pandemic. Mike shared that growing up he remembers seeing and missing opportunities during the dot-com era because he was afraid to take a risk. That all changed when he learned more about blockchain and how it could help to create a better world for all by leveling the playing field, this time he jumped head first. Finally taking control of his own destiny, chasing his passion, purpose, and vision while helping others to achieve their full potential.

This week we take a TIMEOUT with Shan Foster basketball legend, the all-time leader in both points and three-pointers made at Vanderbilt University, drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2008. Today Shan Foster is Co-Founder and CEO of Fostering Healthy Solutions committed to taking the lessons he learned on and off the court to inspire others. Focusing on creating safe spaces to have difficult conversations to change the paradigm of how we view our differences. "When you push past your own discomfort you tap into your true potential" Shan shared what he learned early on going from being the 397th player ranked in the country to the #9 small forward in the country a summer later. Shan shares that when you meet adversity, the times that make you question if this really is for you, having you think if you just like it or love it, is when you give yourself the ability to learn and grow.

We take a timeout this week with Tom Ulbrich, President & CEO of Goodwill of Western New York. Did I Live, Did I Love, Did I Matter This is the billboard that Tom would put up on I-90 for all of us to read, to ensure we are the best leaders we can be at home, at work, and in the community in which we all live and work. Tom shares that his goal as CEO and President has always been to create a business that is not "about" the leader. From his time working with entrepreneurs, and teaching in higher education, and business he has seen how egos can interrupt and impact the overall performance of a company when it is ALL about the leader. Tom's Top 4: 1. Look in the mirror 2. Build a great team that doesn't need you 3. Predict the future by constantly innovating 4. Always remember it is about momentum

Timeout with Leaders kicks off Season 3 with a BANG sitting down with Chelsea Conway, CEO at Conway Beam Truck Group in Rochester. We talk about leadership and racewalking in the Olympic trials. In case you were wondering Chelsea has a 7:14 average mile time but this wasn't her biggest challenge. Chelsea stepped in as CEO of the family-owned business which started in 1951, but she was the daughter of the owner and a woman in a male-dominated industry. What stood out most was her humility to ask questions and surround herself with great people willing to give her honest feedback. Reminding us as leaders today that we cannot let out fear stand in the way of our progress. We must understand that what drives others may be different than what motivates you, but is it not WRONG.

“Let me tell you how I got to the Whitehouse” We had the honor and privilege to sit down with Dale Petroskey. When you’ve been President Ronald Regan’s Press Secretary, The President of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Vice President of National Geographic, and now the CEO of the #1 Chamber of Commerce in the country, how do you stay hungry? Well, Dale has the answers and experiences to share on this episode of “Timeout with Leaders.” Dale is currently the President and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber, one of the largest and most established business organizations in the state of Texas, representing 800 unique member companies and now the #1 Chamber in the country. The DRC works to strengthen the business community by attracting companies and talented workers from around the world, improving education, advocating for pro-growth public policies, and enhancing the quality of life for all in the Dallas Region. When Dale talks, you listen was the mantra of this episode. Dale dropped some valuable knowledge and we are so grateful for the hour we got to spend with him.

Have you ever realized that YOU, yourself are the common denominator? We take a TIMEOUT with Brittany Simmons Willis 9-5preneur and a franchise business owner when she is off the clock with the day job. More and more professionals are realizing that they have more time and value they can give in return for a "side" hustle. Starting your own business can seem "crazy" to some because they would never take the risk themselves. However, it is NOT crazy when you have a little faith and you have done your homework. It is always a "little less crazy when you do your research" With every opportunity you are present, did you leave that conversation, relationship, or environment better than when you found it?

Boxing, Life, and Leadership what do they all have to do with one another? Tyler White and Kevyn Rustici take a TIMEOUT with Mayhem, aka Jeff Pier, Executive Director at the Child Care Council in Rochester, NY! There aren't many leaders like Jeff but then again not many people have a theme song written for them either. "Bring out the Mayhem" He shares his stories of sparing with Oscar De La Hoya and other boxing legends with a few pairs of Golden Gloves himself. The lessons he learned in the ring have taught him how to become a truly electric Executive Director, no matter what challenge he is faced with. Jeff shares that preparation is key in order to be ready for both the wins and the losses. If you make the training harder than the fight, you will be prepared for just about anything.

We sit down with Pat Smith, CEO of Serve Denton located in Denton, Texas down is Tyler's country, everything is said to be bigger in Texas! His favorite meal and musician is George Strait, and he has a big heart for his community and our country. He is a veteran and now has turned his mission into serving the Denton, Texas community. Desperation is a powerful force, if you aren't failing then you are not trying. FAIL stands for the first attempt at learning. He empowers his employees, by embracing the Toyota Way where failure is celebrated. If you fail in Pat's mind the process is broken not the person. It is if the company has set that individual up for success or failure with the given policies, procedures, and processes. Pat shares that we in leadership today need to give our employees space. Trust them, that they can and will fail but as long as we learn and continue to improve we are always getting better.

We take a TIMEOUT with Wade Norwood, Chief Executive Officer for Common Ground Health, one of the nation's oldest and most effective regional health planning organizations located in Rochester, NY! Wade shared that leaders today need to find more joy and peace in their lives today in order to lead effectively. Practicing gratitude often helps to keep things in perspective for him. Wade's focus on building real meaningful connections with his team is special, noting that he is preparing to "give this community to our children." It isn't about the title for this CEO, he understands there is no "easy button" to leadership today but his honest understanding and constant reflection helps him to focus on what matters most.

Join Tyler and Kevyn as we sit down with Anthony Ditucci, President and COO at Livingston Associates. Tony is a father of 5 but takes the lessons he has learned at home and brings them into his leadership style and practices. Tony has learned early on that it is all about the people, the relationships that you are able to build with those individuals and how you drive #teamthink in order to uncover the BEST IDEA. It is not about who is right and who is wrong, or we have always done it that way with Tony, which is a lesson most leaders need to learn today. It is ok to celebrate the wins but also the losses as a team to create that continuous learning environment and sharing of intellectual capital across the entire business.

We sit down with Mohammed Ahamed, CEO and Chief Diversity Officer at EDI Executive Search to discuss leadership today and how it has changed over time. Sometimes we must wear the cap if it fits in leadership in order to learn or unlearn to make positive progress in our learning journey. Mo starts and ends each day in reflection focusing on gratitude to see the sun rise and set that day, knowing he has been given the opportunity to make a difference by being ALIVE! It is that intentionality, to make the most out of today, that energizes Mo in the work he does. We could all be a little more grateful and thankful today to realize what we do have and not focus all our energy on what we do not. "Don't count the days make the days count" - Muhammed Ali

This week Tyler and Kevyn sit down with Kim Brumber, past CEO of East House, Volunteers of America Upstate NY, and NeighborWorks Community Partners. Kim shared her journey from being a girl from rural America and how she became a prominent leader in our community. She mentioned that it can take a while to find your voice and that being broken is totally OK! We have the chance to build it back or build it better than before. Kim 2.0 is a force to be reckoned with as she continues to "earn her followership" in both the professional world but also her personal life! She mentions how these key people helped her and continued to show up during certain phases of her life. Reminding us that we are "human if we are HONEST about it."

We sit down this week with John Sheehan, President/CEO of Rochester RHIO, which focuses on providing better care through better information. John shared his passions for Food and Music and a little Florida State trash talk with the 93' National Championship. He was open in sharing more about his work in mental health and how he has seen this stigma change for the better, sadly it was always viewed as lesser than some of the other health needs in our communities. Let us be courageous and talk about these real challenges as it relates to addiction, mental health, trauma, and available treatment. In leadership, John brings a top-down mentality to create a safe place for his employees to thrive. He has found the Platinum Rule is his secret recipe to success in leadership, "Understand how they want to be treated first, not how you think they would want to be treated."

Join Tyler and Kevyn as they sit down with Tom O'Connor, President of Al Sigl which focuses on providing affordable commercial real estate for human services non-profits in Rochester. From for-profit to non-profit Tom was able to find more work-life balance as well as more fulfilling work knowing he was making a difference in the community. As a leader Tom is all about ACTION, yes we will make mistakes but let's ask questions, work together and come up with the BEST solutions with all the institutional knowledge of the team. Tom shared "I don't have to win but I hate to lose" and that he is constantly curious which allows him to be comfortable with change and build the trust necessary with his team to get through prevailing winds. When we are constantly curious we will always seek to find new and better ways of doing things while evolving as a leader, "nowhere near the best me yet!"

The mythical legend, Bob Duffy joins Timeout with Leaders, to discuss his time in policing, politics, and today serving as CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. When he is running in one of his marathons you might catch him listening to a little rock-n-roll, R&B or even a little soul. Bob loves basketball and continues to see the parallels between coaching and leadership today. Bob's life journey helped teach him critical life lessons that helps him to see all individuals as they are equally important. This allows Bob to really connect with ALL individuals on his team while treating them all equally important. "If you respect them you will listen to them" it is about elevating everyone's quality of life.

TIMEOUT with Job Creator John Love, President and Owner of Bob Johnson which is made up of 23 dealerships with over 1,400 employees today, or as John puts it 1,400 home payments, 1,400 car payments and 1,400 families. John Love would be the first to tell you his life has certainly been a journey one that most would never write a book about, but John did titled "You Failed Me." He learned through the pain you can find purpose, his being the creation of jobs while lifting others up but despite all his success he stays grounded. As he puts it "I survived my success" not falling out of touch with the reality of the real world most people have to live with daily. John shared he learns most about his company, their culture, and what they could be doing better by talking directly to the front line staff himself, albeit making managers uncomfortable. He is so in touch with his team that he topped off his employee's gas tanks to reduce their financial stress. Leaning from loss John shared that LIFE IS SHORT, so make the most of TODAY, because today is a gift. Ask yourself what you ARE going to do with it. "Control what you can control but what you can't pray hard."

TIMEOUT!!!!! Back after a short little break, Tyler and Kevyn sit down with the President and CEO of ESL Federal Credit Union, Faheem Masood. An established community partner since the days of George Eastman, ESL continues to support Rochester but as we know it all starts at the top. Faheem Masood is an immigrant who has worked his way up to become or as he put it "participate" as President and CEO. Having that personal experience of living in a 3rd world country, helped him to become more aware of ALL the things that might be happening in an individual's life, helping him to know where to focus to create a deeper connection. One thing was clear Faheem understands the great responsibility you have as a leader, and instead of seeking success and glory for himself, he brings his team with him. Communication, feedback, and enabling others is really only possible if we listen. He shared that "as titles get bigger it gets harder" as others tend to shy away from openly sharing their opinion. But he said if you ask, you must ACT.

Take a TIMEOUT with Bob Bailey, the Chief Everyone Office (CEO) and Founder of the Truth Collective and throw on a little Rock n Roll. How do you become the best version of yourself as a person but also as a business AFTER the global pandemic? Focus on people and team preservation, giving free ideas and free advice to help as many people as you can while keeping the band together. In a world where change is happening faster than before, Bob has found 30-day business plans to be effective. He mentioned that we need to get more granular with our goals in business and leadership to make success more obtainable. Bob's advice is to flip the hierarchy pyramid on its head, become the Chief Listening Officer, get 100% comfortable with who you are so you can be vulnerable with your people and be OK with telling the truth!

What do Doug Flutie, Yankee heroes, the breakup of The Beatles, and 4 Careers add up to? ...Mark McDermott Mark is CEO of Touching Hearts at Home and Together in Caring, both out of Rochester. He loves the Yankees and fly fishing, but also knows he is waking up every day and making a BIG difference in the community by providing quality care for older adults. As he left the law field, he recalled, "I wasn't finding meaning in the work, I was searching for meaning." This forced Mark to go from having a comfortable paycheck to no paycheck when he started a companion care agency. He didn't know at the time if they would be successful but realized the reward was actually helping older adults. As for leadership advice, Mark says the workplace is all about relationships but possibly the most important ingredient to a great culture is meeting individuals' intellectual and emotional needs regularly. That is why "You have to let them see the human side of you" to build real meaningful relationships with your people.

What do you get when you mix ethics with leadership, compassion, and a passion to help others? ...La'Ron Singletary We sit down with La'Ron Singletary, the former Chief of Police of the Rochester Police Department who is looking to grow his impact on our community by running for U.S. Congress. It isn't often that Tyler and Kevyn get to sit down with a superhero but that is exactly who La'Ron Singletary is. In the face of adversity, it is "best to believe in something otherwise we will fall for anything," which La'Ron shared was a lesson taught to him by his grandmother, one we all can learn something from.

We meet with Admiral James T. Kirk, aka "Captain Kirk" aka Michelle Casey, President and CEO at Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York. Tyler and Kevyn knew from the start with Michelle's calm, confident demeanor that we were going to get some schooling on leadership and what it takes today. Michelle shares some of her personal experiences of being a leader but also how her previous jobs helped shape her to be more in tune and in touch with her people. Michelle's egoless mentality helps her to eliminate hierarchy based on the title alone to really understand and connect with each individual within her organization to build meaningful trustworthy relationships.

You know when someone has that energy when you talk to them that you can't seem to put your finger on to describe, and you simply just FEEL it? Buckle up for this interview with Ann Marie Cook, President & CEO of Lifespan of Great Rochester, who is fighting to protect, support, advocate for older adults, not only in Rochester, but beyond. Ann Marie shared that you have to connect with individuals, but do so on an emotional level, which is why she LOVES teaching with stories, sharing a few in the interview that got Tyler and Kevyn fired up! She shared that one of the best pieces of advice that she has received is that you are going to make a million mistakes, but how quickly you learn from these mistakes is the difference between a good leader and a great one. Today's world is full of change, which is something Ann Marie is very comfortable with. She said "don't take yourself too seriously" and "let go" more often, but reminded us that every plan "doesn't have to be perfect because it is a start."

"I look up to my people" Take a Timeout with Willis, William, Bill Boulter the 5th generation CEO of Boulter Industrial Contractors, a 130-year-old company here in Rochester. When you think of a family-owned and operated business what do you think of first? Well, we stopped to ask the question of Willis to understand what was the family recipe when it came to leadership, which was always engaging with our people on an individual level. William's short game is killer but his calm, cool and collected leadership approach allows his staff to approach him with challenges and questions due to the level of trust. He uses the "Stop - Think - Ask" method to build trust and accountability with his people on a daily basis to always improve. Get away from the "This is how we use to do it" mindset and always be reinvesting in the business and the people for long-term sustainable growth!

Are children more emotionally intelligent than most CEOs today? We sit down with Dr. Kymberly Cruz, Chief Educational Officer at Renaissance Academy Charter School in Rochester New York. She shared that she feeds off the kid's energy and innocence because they believe in her, trust her, and will let her make mistakes. Maybe we all need to channel our inner child self when it comes to leadership today before it wasn't cool to be smart, kind, and when we didn't give in to peer pressure. Dr. Kymberly talks about how her school teaches THROUGH the arts, as she has worked her entire career in education she sees how important their education is to prepare our young people for a future of success while improving the community one class at a time. They focus on giving them the 21st-century skills like empathy and creativity to be successful in the new world of work. We need to pay teachers the salary they deserve as they prepare the future generation we ALL will rely on. Stop waiting for an endorsement and build confidence in the journey of life.

One word "Transparent" which would describe this interview with Kevin Schulte, CEO for Greenspark Energy focus on bringing economical and sustainable ways to push us away from the use of fossil fuels. The one thing that you will hear is that Kevin Schulte never wanted to be a different person at home, at the office and even out with friends, because that is acting. He has found it to be most effective in leadership to be the SAME person who is open, honest and transparent. Kevin is an employee-first leader who understands the importance of his people while also understanding there is no purpose without profits. Requiring him and his team to make some tough decisions in 2018, (Greensparks D-Day) which oddly had them properly prepared to take on the COVID pandemic through transparency, grit, grace and some great communication across all teams. Let's work to build those social, individualized relationships with our people, get personal and build the social fabric that will ready your team for the next adversity they will face.

We got to sit down with Jim Malvaso, VP of Human Resources at Constellation Brands to talk Michigan State hoops, Dave Mathews Band World Tour, and about leadership in HR. From the opening song "Can you feel the love tonight" by Tyler White, we knew Jim was different. We talked about the importance of his experience in Selma and how he is on his own learning journey as we reflected on MLK. Jim is a leader who is helping to understand how he can help improve the lives of employees while still building the trust and respect of other business leaders within Constellation Brands. After listening you will know why Constellation Brands is always leading and never following!

Join us to listen to episode 6 with Ken Glazer, CEO of Buckingham Properties, a growing real estate and property management company in Rochester. Ken recently was awarded the WNY Power 100, for his work in and around the Rochester community. Ken shares with us his life journey in being put into a leadership role before he was even able to prepare himself for the challenge. Due to a tragic accident, losing both his mother and father he had to work on himself first and heal before he could lead a company. Ken shared the steps we can start making to understand more about who we are and what do we like to do for fun... all so we can become better leaders in our own lives eventually being able to lead others. Through Ken's own experiences and life lessons he has learned that by "doing less as a leader, more work gets done." He goes on to explain that the team had to learn how to make decisions again and he learned trusting his people to get the work done was the best way to make them feel empowered.

Kicking off 2022 in style, Patrick Tobin, CEO and President of Han-Tek, joins Timeout with Leaders to talk Terps basketball and leading a family-owned company, picking up right where his father left off! Patrick might be the calmest, coolest and collected leader we have ever met. Patrick started by telling us that he never wants to be the smartest person in the room, he wants to surround himself with smarter people to bring forth the constant innovation required in their industry. He creates opportunities for his team to ask questions, share insights and speak openly to help build trust, resilience, and a sense of TEAM. This has helped his team to fight through adversity, solve problems and more importantly listen to one another. Don't ask Patrick about Steve Blake but if you want to learn about what it means to be a leader today, ask Patrick. Keep your commitments to your people and put them in the best position to succeed, for starters. His message to leaders is to hire attitude and aptitude over a resume!

Episode 4 of Season 2: Amy Gould, Chief People Officer at Regional Transit Service, joins as our first HR leader to be on Timeout with Leaders. Amy has a passion for people and building relationships to improve the daily lives of employees, creating a uniting purpose to bring over 1,000 employees together to serve the community daily. Top 3 Gould Family Christmas Movies -Christmas Vacation -A Christmas Story -Elf Amy spoke about the competitive labor market and believes companies need to hire for character and train for skills. While increasing communication across all teams to get the full story on what is really going on internally. She has found more communication limits surprises for the business, so they can take a more proactive approach. Amy reminds us that the customer experience should match the employee experience as they are interacting daily with one another, a direct representation of the company, so they better be happy! "It is so important to know your employees today" - Amy Gould

Ken Johnson CEO of Leonard's Express a multi-generational family-owned and operated business, recent winner of Rochester Top 100 places to work joins us for episode 3 "Opportunity to Create Change" When we think about leadership today, Ken shared that he has found you must be "fair" and "firm" but you must have built the right relationship establishing trust to hold the team accountable. Ken shares that running a family business is never easy from arm wrestling competitions with his brothers but also how to they have had to learn how to utilize each of their strengths. What was most fascinating is their dedication to their people, the industry, and looking to make a change, even if it "ain't broke". Ken's commitment to the community, "we have a responsibility to give back, we need to be a part of the community in which we live and work" You "got to listen" in leadership today.

Season 2 is off to a HOT start with guest Jaime Saunders, President and CEO of the United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. Her energy sucked us right in for an incredible conversation about what it takes to be a leader today. She spoke about the "Great Resignation" as the "Great Re-Think" for most leaders and businesses. Jaime's positive mindset, thinking about how she can "leave the world a better place" as a leader in our community here in Rochester. She reminds leaders that they are the followers, the champions, and the cheerleaders to effectively build trust across their teams uniting them with a common purpose. She mentioned that this can all be found in the children's books of old teaching the same lessons leaders need today. We can be more effective leaders if we "touch the heart before you teach the mind!"

What a way to kick off Season 2 of “Timeout with Leaders” with Kenneth Rhee, Dean of the School of Business and Leadership at Nazareth College in Rochester. Well, his favorite movie is “Chariots of Fire”, he knows when it’s the best time to go to the grocery store in Green Bay and he’s a huge Apple fan. What we also learned about Kenneth is he’s an amazing and progressive leader that puts a primary focus on leading by example. He said today we should change our focus to the inputs and process rather than just the desired output result. He shared leaders of today need to be "self disruptive" in order to get comfortable with the changes necessary in today's business environment. Today leaders new to be honest, transparent and most importantly authentic to earn the trust of their people. Our people should feel safe to say what you NEED to hear not just what you want to hear. Kenneth pumped us full of wisdom and experiences and educated us on how to start with ourselves if we want to change the universe.

Episode 27 - Business Owners and Coaches, get your pen and pad out because we are taking a "Timeout" with Coach Kevin Clifford, Head Coach for Roberts Wesleyan Women's Basketball Team and he's what we like to call.... "ahead of the game." Coach Clifford's knowledge, wisdom, and experience with processes recruiting, and finding our way are unmatched. Coach Clifford's approach to recruiting in the sports world can absolutely be used as an instrumental tool in today's business world. Coach is much more than a basketball coach, he increased his team's GPA from a 1.6 GPA to a 3.5GPA in just one year!!! We loved it when he said, "team, we're going to the library for practice today!" Coach puts a tremendous value on building relationships in this episode that you all will find extremely valuable. His character shines as bright as the sun in our conversation and was a BLAST!!!!

What can stop Joe Rulison, the founder and CEO of three + one...... the answer is NOTHING, not even going blind while starting a business!!! We had a ball listening to Joe's journey to success. Joe didn't say the word "I" the entire episode when talking about accomplishments. We wondered how Joe built an unstoppable force at three+one and the quote that stood out to us was, "the hardest part about three+one is getting into three+one." We learned everything from Joe's favorite superhero to how his puppy became famous overnight... "Eddie The River Golden Doodle." Have an awesome Friday y'all and enjoy Joe's ahead of the pack leadership skills we get to talk about!

"If you haven't gotten your picture taken by Brother Ernie then you ain't Hip-Hop" At first, we were blown away by Ernie's portfolio of pictures & relationships he had of Tupac, Biggie, Chuck D, Mike Tyson, P. Diddy, Nas, Snoop Dog, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Wu-Tang Clan and so many more... the list does not end. Ernie's energy and wisdom immediately steered our conversation to only about Ernie as we had a LOT to learn... we were no longer curious about the icons he took photos of and we focused on how iconic Ernie was. His view on the universe and focus on energy was more than insightful, we couldn't stop asking Ernie questions on life!!! Ernie said "Energy cannot be either created or destroyed" and this made us more aware that no matter what we are doing we are putting off positive or negative energy. We must put in more than we take out in the universe, when we can learn to laugh it helps us to put FEAR into perspective. Stop focusing on the result and focus on the DOING.